Thu, 21 Sep 2017 12:03:19 +0000
By Mailesi Banda
THE depreciation of the Kwacha against the major currencies is worrying because Zambia is largely dependent on imported goods, financial analyst Maambo Hamauudu has said.
Mr. Hamauudu said Zambia continued to face a challenge in the stability of the local currency due to the lack of a strong industrial base in the country.
He advised that more resources needed to be put in the manufacturing industry to promote the stability of the local currency.
“As a country we should be worried when the Kwacha depreciates because we depend on imported goods and the depreciation of the currency has a negative impact on the citizens since as prices of basic commodities increase,” Mr. Hamauudu said.
He said it was important for Government to set measures in place to ensure that a stable currency was maintained, adding that the only way this could be done was if the local manufacturing industry was enhanced.
Mr. Hamauudu said that as long as Zambia did not have a strong manufacturing base it would be difficult to maintain a stable currency.
“We can only have a stable and strong currency if we improve productivity because the reason we are importing is because we do not have a strong manufacturing base,” Mr. Hamauudu said
Having broken the K9 barrier against the United States dollar recently to sell at as low as K8.40 the Kwacha has in the last two weeks gone back to trading within the K9 barrier with the last report yesterday recorded at K9.60.
